


tomorrow is our permanent address

by repurposed



Category: Original Work
Genre: Fantasy Violence, Friends to Lovers, Other, Parental Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2019-02-08 14:43:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12866700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/repurposed/pseuds/repurposed
Summary: “-tomorrow is our permanent addressand there they’ll scarcely find us(if they do,we’ll move away still further:into now”-e.e. cummings(Nai was sent here to be a kidnapper. He refuses the job.)





	tomorrow is our permanent address

**Author's Note:**

> This is a commission from my friend Zack, featuring his OC Vailintin and my OC Nai. My roleplay blog is now inactive, but Zack’s blog for Vailintin can be found at edelweissmage.tumblr.com.
> 
> This story is based very, very loosely on the opera The Magic Flute.

It was dark, and there was no sound. Vailintin had fallen asleep to the soft settling noises of the castle, the animals rustling about in the trees and bushes outside their window, the glow filtering gently underneath their door of the oil lamps still lit in the outer halls - but when they opened their eyes, they couldn’t see a thing.

Somehow, deep in their bones, the knowledge that they were not in the palace rose up, insidious and dark, needle-sharp and permeating the rationality they tried to apply to the situation. They moved with the uncomfortable heaviness peculiar to nightmares as they attempted to sit up, but the realization that they were likely in a dream couldn’t stave off their panic at the distinctly cold sound of metal clinking, the feeling that the cuffs they could sense around their ankles were siphoning the warmth from their body.

The moment they heard the footsteps, they knew. There was no voice, no image, no explanation of how or why this had happened to them, but neither was there any mistaking the audible tread of the person they’d come so far to escape. Their mind ached to hear anything else, to be reminded that anything existed outside this seemingly borderless darkness, but there was nothing - only the footsteps that came ever closer without reaching them, and the sound of their chains, painfully loud every time they shifted slightly.

Something in Vailintin’s mind told them that this person - this man they couldn’t quite bear to think of as their father - was about to speak. He was about to say something to them, and once he did, once his voice reached their ears for the first time in so long, they could never be free again. The logic of the nightmare spurred them on to scuttle frantically backwards with their arms, the now-deafening iron clatter their only defense against the sound that would imprison them forever. As they leaned sharply away from the presence, they suddenly found themself tipping over into nothingness, restrained by their chains and dangling in an abyss where there was no sound, no touch, no scent, nothing but the painfully cold metal and the knowledge that Franz was there.

Vailintin awoke hanging off the edge of their bed, chilled with sweat and thrashing to free themself from the sheets twisted awkwardly around their calves. As they pulled themself out of the mangled mass of bedding onto the floor, they splayed a hand out, grasping for the reassurance that they were in the physical realm, that their nightmare had been just that, and clung to the ornate clawed foot of the wardrobe in their chambers, breathing into the soft carpet and feeling the texture of it on their face until they felt almost silly for doing so.

Sitting up, they realized the braid they’d meticulously put their hair in had been mostly pulled apart by their thrashing, and they reached to pull out the tie, starting to laugh nervously at what a mess their hair was. They hadn’t had a nightmare of this magnitude in several months, but the arrival of the foreign prince - sent by the very man their dream had featured so prominently - had apparently spurred on the darkest memories in the depths of their psyche, regardless of how pleasant said prince was personally.

Vailintin wrapped their arms around themself as they sat on the floor, trying to concentrate on breathing slowly. They could feel the sweat cooling uncomfortably underneath their nightclothes, and shakily stood to reach for the half-full pitcher of water that sat on their nightstand, almost dropping it as they filled the wash basin. The water was chilly when they put their hands in it, and they withdrew, aware that it was unreasonable, but feeling unsafe from the sensation, as if a last wisp of their nightmare had caught up with them.

They left the wash basin where it was, abandoning their efforts to tidy up, and turned around to go back to bed, stopping briefly when they caught sight of the bunch of yellow tulips on their windowsill. They hadn’t re-rooted them yet, having received them late at night and then been far too busy to do anything with them the next morning - but it was a welcome distraction to their anxious mind to think about where in the gardens they were going to put them. Tulips had been one of the first things they’d received from their admirer, and there was already a substantial patch of them, separated meticulously by color.

There were other flowers too, ones that had quickly proven to Vailintin that their admirer knew precisely what their various meanings were and really was intending to send them a message - aside from the tulips, which had always been a particular favorite of theirs regardless of the color or connotations, one of their very favorite additions to the rapidly growing new section of their garden had been the gardenias, planted in a pot rather than cut, as their admirer apparently hadn’t been able to find a way to attractively place them in a bouquet like the others. They meant secret affection, hidden love, and it was upon receiving them that Vailintin had known instantly who was sending them all these flowers, their secret suspicions that had been building up over weeks suddenly solidifying into certainty as they remembered shyly explaining to Prince Nai, on one of their now-regular walks together through the palace gardens, why they were very fond of white gardenias, seeing as how they had such a pure meaning and were so lovely and impressive-looking, yet so agreeable and easy to cultivate (at least for Vailintin’s green thumb).

The tulips that had drawn their attention away from their feverish thoughts just now were perhaps the nicest, out of every variation that had been delivered so far - they were a deep and soft yellow, and Vailintin was considering re-rooting them in a pot to keep in their window instead of putting them with the other plants in the garden - it was a very welcome distraction, pondering flower arrangements rather than thinking about the man who was apparently so dedicated to hunting them down. They ran a finger up the smooth underside of one of the delicate petals, feeling the sense of soft, powerful awe that they always did at the sheer concentration of life in so small a plant. They remembered what this variation of tulips generally meant - perfect love, friendship, happiness, and the rush of feeling elicited by the thought made the half-opened bud of the flower suddenly expand and relax into its mature shape.

The reminder of their underlying power, which so often slept beneath the surface, easily forgotten despite being the crux of the situation they were in, was as sobering as it was comforting. It made Vailintin think of the reason Prince Nai had been sent here in the first place - to “rescue” them from the elves, to bring them back to a man whose intentions towards them surely weren’t any warmer than those their nightmare had constructed. It made them feel strangely guilty, when they dwelt on it for too long with nothing to distract themself - Nai was a good and honorable person, someone who’d been painfully, blessedly open and frank with his feelings ever since his arrival to the palace. He was such a comfort to them, with his blatant distaste for his true “mission” and his immediate, clumsy instinct to swear himself to their protection, to apologize for something he couldn’t possibly have had any hand in out of a sense of morality and duty.

Vailintin had, despite their current warm feelings towards the prince, taken an excessive amount of time to learn to trust him. They’d wanted so badly to believe that he was really there to protect them, as he’d said, and that they had an ally now, someone who understood what it was like to live under the thumb of one’s family, someone who - as accommodating and kind as the elves were - might be better able to relate to Vailintin on a personal level - but their hospitality had at first been tinged with uncertainty and nervousness, a sense that this was far, far too good to be true, that they should be wary of yet another trap set by their father.

Eventually, though, either the loneliness had become too much to bear, or Prince Nai had proven himself unequivocally kind and trustworthy, or perhaps both. Either way, Vailintin found themself suddenly overwhelmed, standing rumpled and disoriented in the otherworldly dark of the palace at night, struck by the fact - and by now it was, they could be sure beyond any reasonable doubt, a fact - that their father’s intended weapon of prejudice against them seemed to have fallen in love with them, or at least developed feelings similar to that, and had sent them countless flowers with carefully curated messages, asking nothing in return but to serve and protect them. It could not possibly have been their reality, but it was, and as happy as it made them, they were also a particular brand of exhausted by the thought, wanting nothing more than a close companion to share these thoughts with and finding it profoundly ridiculous that the only companion they wanted was someone they’d feel far too awkward to approach.

But - Vailintin looked at the tulips again, at the bud that had blossomed out of the sheer force of their feelings towards Nai, and felt some strange determination settle into their heart, something nudging at certainty, even if it wasn’t entirely there just yet. Operating on a force born from some deep emotion that they hadn’t even known they could feel, they took the vase into their arms and quietly padded across the room, easing the door open and cautiously swiveling to avoid bumping the flowers into the doorframe as they took a step out into the dimly lit corridor.

Once they’d reached the door of Nai’s room, they hesitated, feeling silly, almost wanting to go back on their sudden, impulsive decision. But the door was cracked open already, soft, sputtering light filtering through it from the lamp that Nai had apparently left burning by accident, and although Vailintin was notoriously quiet on their feet - something that had even been noted by the elves, of all people - apparently their presence had awoken Nai, as they heard rustling noises from within and tired, slow footsteps coming towards the doorway.

Nai looked profoundly awful when he opened the door the rest of the way to greet them, which, although it concerned Vailintin, also eased some of their worries about embarrassing themself in front of him. His hair had never been removed from the ponytail he’d put it in earlier when he’d insisted - insisted, no matter how much Vailintin or anyone else told him he didn’t have to - on assisting the cooks since one of them had fallen minorly ill that night - and the tie was tangled hopelessly in a curl of red hair to one side, looking like he’d anxiously run his hands through it multiple times unaware of the fact that it was tied up. His face was far, far too pale for Vailintin’s liking - they knew what he usually looked like, sunny and flushed with enthusiasm, and this worried them terribly.

His eyes, blank and exhausted at first, began to take in the sight of Vailintin standing before him with the tulips clutched to their chest, and an expression of slowly dawning terror began to creep over his face, as if he was sure he’d wandered into a nightmare. He opened his mouth, closed it, looked away with his mouth tight, and Vailintin noticed something perilously like tears starting to form in his tired eyes.

“O-oh no - are you alright? Please don’t cry, I’m sorry if I woke you at a bad time-“ they began, but Nai shook his head and covered his mouth with a fist, stepping out of their way and ushering them in with his other hand, not looking at their face.

“I....... no, ‘s fine, I just......” he crossed his arms over his torso and looked at the carpeted floor, curling in on himself in a way that looked simply pitiful on someone of his stature. Vailintin, in their anxious efforts to look as far away from Nai as possible, noticed the perfectly smooth bed behind Nai that he apparently had never slept in, and then their eyes caught on the rumpled blanket in the armchair next to the slowly dying lamp, the significant dent in the thick carpet underneath the window that was the shape of a person’s head, and the decorative pillow tucked inside the cracked-open wardrobe, of all places.

“Listen, I - I didn’t mean to upset you, I only -“ they stuttered aimlessly in a mixture of exhaustion, anxiety, and concern for Nai, finally sighing and carefully setting down the vase they were still carrying on the dresser they stood next to, mustering the courage to look Nai in the eyes.

“I’m very sorry if this is an inconvenient time to talk to you, I just.... I had a nightmare, and for some reason I........” Unsure how to end the sentence, they reached a hand out in a burst of determination and gently uncurled Nai’s fist from where it was tucked tightly under his other elbow, seemingly in self-defense. They very nearly felt silly holding his hand loosely in both of theirs, looking at the striking visual representation of the stark difference between the two of them - despite having come from a royal background, Nai’s hands looked like those of a man who’d worked hard for most of his life, and Vailintin remembered with a sudden burst of affection the stories Nai had told them about the small animals Nai had rescued and smuggled under his parents’ noses as he nursed them back to health.

Vailintin’s own hands were dramatically paler in comparison, but they were starting to develop callouses and a slightly rougher texture as they’d been working so often in the gardens here, although they still felt small and delicate next to Nai’s. However, in this situation, they somehow felt that they were the one who needed to protect Nai, not the other way around - it was a foreign emotion, and it made them hold Nai’s hand more tightly in their own.

“I was..... thinking. I’ve been receiving flowers on a regular basis recently, and I...... I’m fairly sure you know about that already?” They looked up at Nai’s face, hardly daring to breathe, and saw with alarm that he was most certainly holding back tears now.

“I didn’t expect you to ever find out,” Nai admitted quietly, looking terribly uncomfortable and staring at the lamp on the other side of the room. “I’m sorry if it makes you uncomfortable - I don’t want to ruin what we’ve got now, I really just want to protect you more than anything. That’s what’s most important.” His pale eyelashes were wet when he turned his face back towards Vailintin, and they clutched his hand tighter in anxious unease, their brow furrowed with tension.

“But..... Nai, I haven’t even - you didn’t even give me a chance! I’m not put off by it, really, I’m not! I just - !” They found that, even in the face of fair certainty that their affection was returned in the same way, they couldn’t seem to make the words escape their mouth. There was a sense of foreignness here, of approaching something they would never be able to come back from, even if a large part of them anticipated it eagerly.

Nai’s larger hand trembled in theirs, and he finally dared to meet their eyes as he processed what they’d just said.

“You..... aren’t?” He tentatively brought his other hand up to cover Vailintin’s, seeing nothing but honesty in their expression. “You really aren’t? I thought for sure - I mean, the whole reason I came here was...... well....... and then - y’know. I thought it’d make you uncomfortable for me to - feel.... that way.”

Vailintin understood the unspoken worry, and it was one that they honestly couldn’t blame him for having - one of the very first things Nai had made a point of explaining to them was how terribly heinous he thought it was for their father to offer their hand in marriage as a “reward” for bringing them back. He’d made every effort to ensure that Vailintin knew they were safe with him, that he had no ill intentions towards them and hadn’t been motivated by that promise.

They believed him, but they couldn’t help a surge of fury at the fact that one of the purest, most noble men they’d ever met had been stopped from expressing his genuine love by such an insidious betrayal on their father’s part. Their anger, however, was quickly deflated as they felt it give rise to an uncomfortable familiarity somewhere in the depths of their mind - they couldn’t bear the feeling for too long, warranted as it may have been. This was not the place they’d grown up in. Nai didn’t deserve to be around anger, and they were terrified of who they might start to emulate if they continued to express it.

“It might have, really - once. But...... not anymore. I - if anything, I just hate the fact that we had to meet like this. It’s my father that makes me uncomfortable, Nai, not you.” They hadn’t referred to Franz as their father in a blessedly long time, and the word seemed to hang dead and heavy in the air between them, their clasped hands a small defense against the awful acknowledgement of it.

Unexpectedly, Nai moved to put his arms around them. Vailintin was concerned at first when he began untwining their hands, but soon he’d wrapped his arms around their shoulders - it was clear that he was trying not to hold them too tightly, but his grip was almost like that of a child with a beloved toy or blanket. It reminded Vailintin suddenly of just how tired and confused Nai must be as well - he’d never spoken much to Vailintin about his mother, who’d sent him here without so much as a thought for the potential dangers, but Vailintin was perceptive. Nai had explained to them during their walks through the palace gardens how the various dialects of his people worked, meaning only to poke fun at the absurd complexity of them, but Vailintin had noted that it was nearly unheard of for a son to take on his father’s name rather than his mother’s.

Nai had introduced himself with his father’s name, and had only mentioned his mother’s name once that they could recall - and that with visible distaste. Vailintin didn’t want to pry, as Nai hadn’t ever pried into their private matters, but they knew something was there. Something was wrong, and it continued to eat away at Nai, even within the comparatively safe walls of the castle, even now, while he was with Vailintin.

As if reading their thoughts, Nai’s head drooped onto Vailintin’s shoulder as his arms relaxed somewhat in exhaustion. A long, tired sigh escaped him, and the sound of it made Vailintin wonder with alarm if he was perhaps crying. They leaned into him tentatively, putting their hands on his back - as tender a person as they were, Vailintin was profoundly inexperienced in comforting others, and so they hoped that they were somehow doing enough simply by holding him, although they worried they might not be.

“I’m.....” they ventured what they intended to be a comforting word, but found themself unable to finish, overwhelmed. They felt, oddly, as if they’d found a scrap of hope, even of victory, simply by being here with Nai, by being able to trust him, to be honest with him. They opened their mouth to try and continue, but Nai spoke first:

“I’m sorry.”

Vailintin blinked. “I.... er, pardon?”

Nai sighed again, placing a hand on the back of their head and pulling them marginally closer - if one could hold a person apologetically, he was doing so at that moment. “I’m sorry you’ve been hurt so much. Sorry you had to come here, even though it’s a good place for you. Sorry about the circumstances of everything.” Vailintin felt perilously close to crying themself now, and they twisted a hand into the fabric of Nai’s shirt to try and ward it off, pressing their head into his shoulder in an attempt to return the embrace, although they really had very little experience in that area.

“You didn’t do anything.” It was their default response to apologies, but it felt hollow here, it felt like not enough. They did know what Nai meant, if they were honest with themself, but - they simply weren’t in the habit of being so.

“But I don’t know who else is gonna apologize to you for any of this shite.” Nai said simply, clearer than any of his previous tired mumblings. And something in Vailintin answered to that, surged forward, and broke against Nai’s shoulder, making them take a shuddering breath and begin to cry in earnest for the first time in - they didn’t remember how long. They often felt like they were performing an elaborate lie when they were treated by the elves as someone delicate and sad, someone who needed protection - there was only good intent in such treatment, but Vailintin had never entirely shaken the idea that there was something cold, dark, and vile inside them, something they’d fostered out of sheer necessity and been unable to throw out once they no longer needed it.

They stood there together for an amount of time that Vailintin would never be able to quite measure, no matter how many times they looked back on it. Eventually, their sobs subsided, and they were simply leaning into Nai as if he was the only sturdy thing in the room, feeling less afraid of themself, and somehow more like a normal person, someone who needed...... ordinary things, comfort, companionship. Someone who was allowed to focus on those things rather than on the intensely dramatic conflicts that had marked their life.

“Oh, it’s..... dawn,” Nai said, drawing them out of their thoughts. “‘M sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you up so late.” Coming back to themself, Vailintin pulled slightly away from him and looked at his face - he looked terrible, exhausted, even more so than when they’d first seen him.

“I - ! You, keeping me up! You did no such thing! I was the one that came and woke you up in the wee hours to - oh, I don’t know - confront you about tulips? Nai, I’m so sorry, you look exhausted. Have you gotten any sleep at - “ Nai silenced them by taking their chin in his hand and looking at them with an amused, relieved smile despite what an absolute mess he was. His face was closer to theirs than they’d anticipated, and before he was able to finish saying “Vailintin, can - “, they’d risen up on their toes and kissed him, flustered and fueled by pure, unfiltered worry over his wellbeing. When they pulled back, shocked at themself and wanting to apologize, they stopped at the ridiculous smile on Nai’s face, and let out a helpless giggle as they noticed that he still had the bit of ribbon from earlier twisted in his hair, looking rather like a small child had used him as a doll. They reached to try and pull it out, quickly gave up, and placed their hand on the side of Nai’s face, smiling back at him just as wholeheartedly.

“You’re going to get some sleep, though,” they said as an afterthought. “Don’t think you can get out of it by giving romantic speeches.” Nai sheepishly gave in as they took his hand and steered him towards the still perfectly-made bed, and the second he fell on top of the covers, he was dead to the world, remarkably un-handsome in this regard but still delightful to Vailintin.

They laid down beside him and touched his hair softly, assuring themself that they wouldn’t drift off so quickly as they did just that.

-

When Nai woke up, his head was pressed into Vailintin’s chest, and his arms curled up between them, his fists tucked under his own chin like a sleeping animal. He didn’t want to move, but he noticed that their arm had shifted to underneath his head, and he couldn’t imagine that being overly comfortable.

He gingerly sat up, admiring their sleeping face for several seconds before reaching up to run his fingers through his hair, grimacing when he hit a large snarl that contained the piece of ribbon he’d tied it back with the other day. He pulled it out sharply, and Vailintin awoke at the small, pained sound he made, sitting up and looking bewildered for a long moment before they remembered where they were.

“I - “ he began to speak, but there was a sudden knock at the door. Nai and Vailintin both jumped at the sound, embarrassed, and Nai got up to answer it, wanting to spare Vailintin the surely uncomfortable encounter.

To Nai’s utter shock, Lady Isleen stood before the door, looking tense and concerned. She betrayed no hint of shock at the sight of Vailintin sitting on Nai’s bed, and quickly hushed them when they began to attempt an explanation of how they’d gotten there. Nai noted in surprise that she held his sword at her side, which she handed to him, hilt-first. Wordlessly, Nai accepted it, feeling entirely lost and waiting for the situation to make itself clear.

“Prince Nai. I understand that this is an unusual request, but you and Vailintin must listen to me,” she said, her voice uncharacteristically full of some urgent emotion. She turned to Vailintin with a softer expression, seeming to wordlessly apologize for the intrusion. “Vailintin, I’m very sorry to interrupt this way. But there’s a chance the two of you may be in danger, and you need to be somewhere safer, quickly.”

“I.... what do you mean?” Vailintin asked, still sounding groggy and unstable, as if they weren’t quite sure whether they’d woken up or not. Lady Isleen crossed the room, glancing over her shoulder at the door behind her as she did so.

“I believe it’s best to be honest with you. There are two intruders outside the palace - Bronagh Ó Nualláin is one of them.” Nai drew in an audible gasp at that, his hands tightening reflexively around the hilt of his sword.

“How the hell - she can’t - !” The last fragile wisps of the previous night evaporated unceremoniously, and Nai instinctively moved to sit next to Vailintin, grasping their hand tightly in his own, no hesitation this time. Their hand was shaking, and as he looked at their face, he saw a horrible certainty dawning.

“The other one - “ Lady Isleen said, drawing in a breath and looking at Vailintin - “is the King of Winter. Vailintin, please, try to calm yourself - “ They had already torn themself away from Nai’s grip and dashed towards the door, which they slammed shut before leaning against it and trying to breathe steadily, but not managing it.

Nai rushed towards them, but when he reached a hand out to touch their shoulder, they smacked it away, crossing their arms defensively against their chest. They sank to the floor, incomprehensible and shuddering, and Lady Isleen knelt in front of them.

“Vailintin, you’ll be safe. He will not find you, but we have to act quickly. There is nowhere in the palace more densely protected than your quarters. You and the prince must follow me there, do you understand?” Numbly, they nodded and stood, looking now as if they’d been slapped and were struggling to process it - their initial response of unbridled panic had dulled to something mechanical and cold that almost scared Nai to look at.

Nai fastened his sword to his side and tentatively reached out towards Vailintin, who didn’t react as he took their arm and began to guide them down the darkened passageway after Lady Isleen. Their face was drawn and grim, and they didn’t seem to be looking where they were going - Nai hastily placed a hand on their back to steer them away from a sharp corner.

“Vailintin....” They turned to look at him when he spoke, but their expression didn’t change. Nai wrapped his arm around their waist, leaving aside his fury at their respective parents for the moment in favor of his concern for them. “No matter what happens, I won’t let you go back there. I’m going to stay with you - I swore I would, remember?” They nodded, drawing in a shivering breath as if they could already feel the unnatural chill that Franz trailed behind him everywhere he went.

“I won’t.....” They swallowed nervously, a small spark of feeling making its way into their voice despite their face remaining frozen in shock. “I won’t let anything happen to you either, Nai. I - I never.... wanted you to have to meet him. I never wanted to see him again. I - “ they were cut off as they reached their quarters, and Lady Isleen ushered them inside, her face grave.

“Vailintin, listen - I want you and Nai to stay here as long as you can. There should be no need for either of you to fight - the palace is surrounded by guards and defended by magic. The most important thing is for both of you to stay alive, do you understand?” Vailintin nodded mutely, and Nai pulled them closer to his side in an attempt to comfort them. Lady Isleen turned to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and looking sharply into his eyes.

“Prince Nai, I understand that you’ve sworn yourself to Vailintin’s service, and that is an admirable thing. But listen to me when I say you must not seek out this fight. The King may be weakened by his efforts to stop Spring, but it could still very well mean death for you should you confront him. No needless heroics - Vailintin prefers you alive, I am sure.” Nai reluctantly conceded that she was right, but kept a hand on his sword - she wouldn’t, he reasoned, have returned it to him unless there was a fair chance that he’d need to use it.

“Bolt the door,” she reminded them as she left, giving Nai a stern glance - a clear reminder not to put either himself or Vailintin in danger. He had no intention of doing so, but he took no offense to her concern - anyone whose first priority was to protect Vailintin was his ally, and he was incredibly grateful to her for accepting his presence so calmly, even under such suspicious circumstances.

He did as he’d been told, throwing both the lock and the heavier metal bolt on the door, and turned to Vailintin, focusing on them now that it seemed he’d done all he could do. They sat beneath the windowsill, as if unconsciously trying to stay close to any possible exits, their knees pulled up to their chest and their eyes staring blankly ahead at nothing. He cautiously made his way towards them, testing the waters by gently touching their arm before pulling them close to him. Now that he was still and had time to think, the full horror of the situation began to settle in - he’d always harbored the suspicion that his mother was capable of more heinous deeds than she’d ever exhibited - even around him, even though she’d done herself no favors with the way she’d behaved. Now he wished desperately that he’d been wrong in that assumption, but she had apparently seen fit to attack him and Vailintin here with no pretense of being political or cordial.

Even so, he couldn’t dispel the nagging, deeply-rooted knot of guilt that twisted far behind his ribs - Vailintin was in such awful danger now, and it was all because - well. He couldn’t think of any specific way he’d been implicit, but the feeling remained, and he smothered it by reminding himself of his vow, of his determination to destroy anything that tried to harm Vailintin.

Vailintin shifted against him, turning their face into his shoulder, and for all his protective instincts, he felt as if they were his only pillar of stability right now. He held them tightly, wishing he could bring the barrier of protection they’d seemed to forge last night into the physical world, sure it would be strong enough to withstand anything Franz or his mother could throw at them.

“Nai.” Vailintin spoke into the fabric of his shirt, their voice small and muffled. Nai made a noise in response, watching the door with trepidation. “He’s going to get in. I know he is. I don’t - I - I won’t go back there, even if I have to die here first.” At that admission, Nai pulled away, grasping them by the shoulders and looking into their eyes.

“You’re not going to die here. You’re not gonna die anywhere, understand? You and I are strong. Our parents are - they’re scared, they’re weakened, they’re graspin’ at straws, you see? Vailintin - “ He moved his hands to their face, wanting them to see the sincerity in his eyes, wanting them to know they still had hope. “I love you. Our parents, they’ve never loved anything. They can’t fight what they can’t understand. We’ll make it out of this, I promise.” Vailintin looked stunned, but warmth and animation was starting to come back into their expression, as if they were finally in the present moment instead of locked away in some horrible memory. They opened their mouth to respond, but before they could get a sound out, there was a sharp rattling noise above their head.

Nai maneuvered both of them out of the way just before the window shuddered and burst inwards, covering Vailintin with his own body and wincing as he felt a stray shard of broken glass lodge itself behind his ear. He reached up to touch the wound and felt blood running warm down the side of his neck, but was distracted when he heard a crackling, snapping sound from outside, and a rush of chilly air swept into the room.

Vailintin scrambled to their feet and grabbed Nai’s hand, pulling him towards the door and fumbling in their haste to open the locks. “It’s him - “ they gasped, a wild look on their face that Nai had never seen before. “That sound - that’s the - there were wards, but he - “ As soon as they managed to get the door open, they dashed down the corridor, dragging Nai behind them, heedless now of any warnings about staying put.

“Vailintin, where - “ Nai started to ask where they intended to go now that their former safe haven had been broken into, but the question died on his lips as he realized the familiar direction they were running in. Ordinarily, this route was one they took happily, on calm days when they wanted to spend time in - the garden.

He knew, suddenly, horribly, what Vailintin intended to do. He knew then that they had been deadly serious in their declaration that they’d protect him as well, and he felt somehow as if he’d failed in his mission, knowing that he could not reasonably tell them to stop, knowing that they were infinitely more powerful in a way he could never hope to be, but still wishing desperately that he could have protected them from the trauma of such an encounter.

When they’d reached the side gate that opened to the gardens, Vailintin briefly let go of Nai’s hand to hurriedly push it open, grabbing hold of him again to whisk him inside and slam the gate behind them. They were out in the open now, but far better protected than they had previously been - as futile as he knew it would likely be, Nai drew his sword, positioning himself before the gate to meet anyone who attempted to follow them.

“How could he have gotten past the guards?” He asked Vailintin, who was standing at the edge of a plot of earth, seemingly scoping out the area. They sighed sharply, a cold and despairing sound despite their efforts to calm and protect themself.

“I thought he would have been too weak to do such a thing, but - he probably..... froze them. I’ve..... I’ve seen things like that happen before, but I never thought it would happen here.” They looked desolately at the soil, arms clutching their sides, and although he knew it would be foolish to drop his sword, Nai wanted to run to them and hold them, to tell them Franz didn’t stand a chance against them now, weakened as he was. But they seemed lost in the depths of some unspeakable recollection that Nai suspected he might never understand, and he doubted such words would get through to them in their current state.

While he was preoccupied with his worries about Vailintin, Nai heard a hideously familiar voice echoing from the corridor behind him, and he whirled around, brandishing his sword despite the gate being shut. There was something horrible and unreal about holding a weapon ready to use against his mother, even if it was necessary, even if it seemed that she deserved it - his grip trembled, and he lowered his hands to hide it.

“Lotnaidí!” His mother screamed, grasping the bars of the gate and pressing up against it like a rabid animal in a cage. Vailintin gasped, turning at the sound, and Nai made brief, apologetic eye contact with them, hating the fact that they had to see this spectacle when they were in so much more pressing danger themself.

Bronagh was a beautiful person, if one judged by aesthetic value alone, but her face was contorted with murderous rage, and her long-boned white hands looked more like the talons of some creature clawing at the dark metal. Nai was deeply aware, in that moment when she called his name, that his mother would not hesitate to kill him, or at least to allow his death at the hands of her now-cohort once he arrived. She seethed, jerking at the bolts of the gate to get them open, and Nai, against his better instincts, backed away when she burst through into the gardens.

“Put down your sword!” She cried shrilly, reaching within the folds of her skirts for a long dagger, which she brandished at her son. “How dare you - my own child! I gave you this opportunity to further your future, to build up our legacy, and you dare to use the sword gifted to you by your own family to threaten me?”

“It’s not yours anymore!” Nai said coldly, although his voice shook along with his hands. “It’s only got one purpose, and that’s to protect Vailintin.” Bronagh whipped her gaze around to Vailintin when he mentioned their name, and began to make a dash towards them - Nai charged in front of her then, fear and guilt forgotten, and slashed blindly at her, landing on the joint of her shoulder and ripping through cloth and flesh. She let out an anguished, guttural cry, falling to her knees and clutching the wound, keeping her grip on the dagger with her injured arm.

“You’ll never be forgiven for this!” She howled, any shred of pretense long gone as she looked up at Nai with eyes that clearly promised death. “Traitor! Ingrate! Attacking your own mother unprovoked, betraying your country, your family, all for some - ! Some - “

“Shut up,” Nai barked before she could finish, blindly furious at the implications of what she was about to say, and, foregoing his sword, slammed his foot into her injured shoulder, knocking her hard to the ground. She lay there howling, cursing him and demanding that he help her, but Nai turned away towards Vailintin, horrified that they had seen him do such a thing. But they weren’t looking at what had just unfolded, instead fixated on a dark figure that approached them from the opposite end of the gardens.

Plants wilted under the weight of the frost that followed behind Franz, and the air seemed to grow heavy and sharp with each step he took towards Vailintin, hanging above them like long knives. Vailintin took a hesitant step backwards, and the sight was, Nai imagined, a terrible representation of what their life had been like under his thumb - the expanse of flowers and climbing vines behind Vailintin swellled and shivered with life, seeming to crawl away from the creeping ice and darkness that enveloped the half of the garden behind Franz.

Nai, knowing he could do nothing, dashed between the two of them regardless, shouting, “If you touch them, if you get any closer, I’ll - “ He was stopped in his tracks by an invisible bolt of agonizing cold that speared him through the heart, forcing him backwards and rendering him immobile. Deep laughter that seemed to slice into him like glass shards reached him as he gasped on the ground, realizing that Bronagh, injured as she was, could very well reach him with her dagger this way if he wasn’t able to regain control of his limbs quickly enough.

“Running to the flowers as your first line of defense, Vailintin?” Franz said, his smirk sharply audible in his voice. “Childish, as you always were. But it’s time for you to stop playing at heroics and come home, where you belong.”

“I am home,” Vailintin said through gritted teeth, finally holding their ground as the soil around them shuddered in response to the deadly cold approaching. “This is where I belong. I - I know you’re weak, you must have used what little power you had left to stop the Elves.”

“Are you certain? I think your...... plaything over there might disagree,” he answered, gesturing to Nai, who was finally struggling to crawl on his elbows, spitting curses as he hobbled as far away from Bronagh as he could - who was beginning to recover herself, and unlike Nai, could walk with her injury.

“Don’t listen to him!” Nai shouted, voice cracking. “You can fight him, Vailintin! You can win! Ignore me - “ as he began to regain movement in his legs, he reared up and kicked Bronagh hard in the kneecap, sending her to the ground once more. He scrambled for his sword, which had been tossed aside as he fell, and Vailintin gasped as the ground began to freeze beneath their bare feet, having torn their attention away from Franz while Nai was in danger.

“I don’t want to fight you!” They shouted, tears beginning to spill down their cheeks as an audible creaking sound came from the patch of rosebushes behind them. Despite their claim, the roses wavered and burst forth from their enclosure, twisting into threatening masses of thorns that reared behind them like fearsome warhorses. “Why can’t you just leave me alone? Forget about me! I’ll never be of any use to you!” As the cadence of their voice rose, they began to take steps towards Franz for the first time, a surge of monstrous, knotted branches breaking through the frozen earth and reaching for him.

“Attacking me with roses!” Franz sneered, although his voice betrayed a slight tremor now. “How picturesque, love triumphing over hate. It’s no use, though - you can’t save your pitiful excuse for a prince, and you can’t kill me. You can’t even stop me. I know you, Vailintin, better than you know yourself - !” His taunts were cut off by shouts of fury and terror as he was enveloped from the feet up by sharp, unforgiving branches and vines, struggling to escape from the ever-pressing prison, but drawing blood each time he attempted to pull himself free.

“You’ve never known me! You don’t know what I’m capable of, you don’t know what I’ll do!” Vailintin screamed, in a rage such as Nai had never seen before. “You’ll never touch him, and you’ll never see me again!” The groaning of the massive vines seemed almost like a voice in its own right, answering Franz’s screams and curses mercilessly.

“You’ll pay for this!” Franz shouted in between his agonized cries. “There’s nothing you can do to stop me, not for long, not with these cheap tricks and empty words - “ Suddenly, there was an awful sound that Nai thought must have been a senseless scream from Vailintin mixed with the deafening creaking of the vines, and Franz was whipped high into the air, breaking through the delicate roof over the gardens, and then hurtling towards the ground at a terrifying speed. Before he struck earth, Vailintin fell to their knees, and the branch that held Franz froze still, hovering, silent, waiting for the command of the only person it would answer to. Their hands dug into the soil, and their head was bowed - Nai realized in alarm that they were sobbing, as if a dam had broken.

It seemed, for a moment, as if the whole garden was holding its breath. Then a grotesque, cackling noise began to filter weakly from where Franz hovered above the ground, sputtering through the blood that sprayed out of his mouth every time he tried to speak.

“I...... was.......... right - “ he managed to force out, sounding maniacal even in his utter vulnerability. “You won’t kill me. You...... can’t - “ he devolved into hacking coughs, a horrible sound that made Nai wonder if he might really die there, regardless of Vailintin’s intentions.

“You’re right,” Vailintin said, their voice ringing out clear for the first time since they’d found out Franz was at the palace. “You’re right that I won’t. Because I know what kind of person I am, and it’s the farthest thing possible from you.” They stood, and the roses relaxed their grip, leaving a battered and bloody Franz on the ground. In the distance, there came the sound of many feet and clattering armor, and Nai realized that whatever enchantment had been put on the guards must have worn off.

Exhausted, but with a bright determination in their eyes, Vailintin rushed to Nai, taking his arm and helping him stand. He leaned on them, feeling the last of the chill inside him dissipate as they held him, burying their head in his shoulder. He clutched them tightly, breathing a sigh of relief into their hair as several palace guards burst through the garden gate, surrounding the injured Bronagh and Franz, hauling them both to their feet amid Bronagh’s shrieks of “Impropriety! I’m injured, can’t you see, I’m injured, he stabbed me - “ and Franz’s incoherent, half-alive mumblings.

Ignoring, for the moment, the guard who was urgently questioning them to see if they were unharmed, Nai pulled away from Vailintin and took their face in his hands. There seemed to be nothing he could say now, but as he looked into their eyes, his own began to fill with tears of exhaustion and relief. He wiped a smear of dirt away from their chin with his sleeve, which only served to smear it further, as he was no less of a mess than they were, and Vailintin, miraculously, began to laugh, leaning into his hand and covering it with their own. And Nai, with no hesitation this time, leaned in to kiss them, pulling them in close in an attempt to convey everything he couldn’t put into words - I’m proud of you, I love you, you’re safe now, I knew we could win.

Vailintin put a hand on his chest briefly, and he pulled away, aware that he was crying, and so were they, but now their tears were ones of sheer, irrepressible joy. They stood on their toes and leaned close to his ear, whispering something meant only for him -

“I love you too.”


End file.
